Golden goals: Raddy Antic (1983)

News broke earlier in the week about the sad death of Raddy Antic. The mere mention of the name brings a smile to the faces of Luton fans, and causes Manchester City supporters to break out in a cold sweat.

Winning the Yugoslav title with Partizan in 1976, Radomir “Raddy” Antic would play for both Fenerbahce and Real Zaragoza before arriving in Bedfordshire in 1980 to ply his trade in the English Second Division with Luton Town. One moment in particular would see Antic leave an indelible mark on the English game.

Primarily a sweeper in his first season at the club, Antic helped Luton to a fifth-place finish in Division Two, as the foundations for the fantastic following campaign were laid. Losing just four league matches during the 1981/82 season, Luton were back in the top flight after a seven-year absence.

Although Antic scored in the 3-2 home defeat against Cardiff in September 1981, manager David Pleat took the decision to move away from the sweeper system; with local rivals Watford dismantled 4-1 in the very next match, the switch had an immediate impact. Antic would occasionally slot in as a sweeper in the future, but from this point on he would be mainly deployed as a midfielder.

Playing his part in the campaign, Antic came off the bench with great effect on the day Luton’s promotion was confirmed. Drawing 1-1 at home against Shrewsbury, Antic’s impact was instant, as Luton scored three goals that rubber-stamped their return to Division One. A little over a year later, another substitute appearance would cement Antic’s name in the history of both Luton and Manchester City.

Understandably, the 1982/83 season was a struggle for Luton. Hovering around the relegation zone for a large part of proceedings, scoring goals was not a problem – Luton found the net 65 times, the same amount as fourth-placed Tottenham – yet defensively the team were terrible. Conceding 85 goals in the 42-match season, it looked as if this generosity would lead to their downfall.

Pleat and his team earned plaudits for their style of football. Yet with rivals Watford proving that substance over style was working on their way to the runners-up spot, it looked as if Luton’s stay in Division One would be brief.

Struggling to keep their heads above water, a 5-2 defeat at Watford at the start of April looked like another nail in their coffin, Antic’s sending-off hardly helping matters. A six-match unbeaten run provided hope, yet two damaging defeats – a 5-1 defeat at Kenilworth Road against Everton and a 3-0 loss at Old Trafford – led to the win or bust trip to Maine Road on May 13.

That City were in this position took some believing. Second in November, and ninth at the turn of the year, things started to unravel after manager John Bond resigned in January. Eleven defeats in 15 saw City plummet, yet a very welcome 1-0 win at Brighton in their penultimate game looked like saving a club – reportedly £1.5 million in debt – from the drop.

The situation was simple. With City a point ahead of Luton, only a win for the away team would keep Pleat’s men in Division One. Again, Antic would find himself on the bench, as a crowd of 42,843 watched on at Maine Road, with the BBC Match of the Day cameras also in attendance. On an afternoon dripping in tension, the match inevitably developed into a scrappy affair.

The very nature of Pleat’s footballing philosophy and their need for a win saw Luton probing throughout. Defenders Mal Donaghy and Kirk Stephens got into good positions, and Ricky Hill linked up well with strikers Paul Walsh, Trevor Aylott and Brian Stein, the latter playing with a painkilling injection a broken foot.

Luton went close with less than 20 minutes remaining, as the ball rebounded off City defender Nicky Reid and on to his own crossbar, yet with time running out it looked like City would cling on to their First Division status. With only four minutes left, Luton were holding out for a hero.

Antic had joined the action after the hour mark, the Match of the Day highlights indicating that maybe, just maybe, there was something significant relating to this particular substitution. For any City fans, it may have been appropriate for the Jaws theme to have kicked in at this point, such was the feeling of impending doom.

“Antic, who is able, with his extravagant skills, to occasionally conjure something in the way of a telling pass or shot,” commentator John Motson noted as the Yugoslav made his way onto the pitch. In the 86th minute, Antic was about to fire a shot that City and Luton fans would be talking about for years to come.

It would be a cross from Stein on Luton’s right that led to Antic’s moment of glory, Alex Williams palming out the ball into the path of the substitute, standing in the D. Antic had a lot of work to do, but struck a right-footed effort towards the goal as Williams and five City defenders blocked the route.

Williams did manage to get his hand to the shot, but deflected the ball slightly, inadvertently taking it out of the path of right back Ray Ranson who was standing on the line. Antic sprinted off in delight, the look on his face the very definition of ecstasy. Swamped by his team-mates, Antic had made the telling contribution that Motson had commented on.

“Has Luton’s life, in the harsh world of the English First Division, been saved by a Yugoslav?” Motson enquired, as City frantically searched for an equaliser. It wasn’t to be. There were a few edgy moments as crosses were pumped into Luton’s area. But Luton Town had survived, as Pleat famously jigged across the Maine Road turf in jubilation.

The celebrations almost turned sour for the likes of Paul Elliott, Hill and Aylott, as they had to escape the attentions of some disgruntled City fans, before mounted police got involved. But as the dust settled, soon talk surrounded the future of Luton’s hero.

“Raddy is a super guy and very talented,” Pleat said post-match. “He wants to stay with us and has no desire to go back home or play in Spain. But he’s been in and out of our team this season and there’s some talking to do. There is a possibility he could stay for another year.”

Antic did stay on for another year, before retiring at the end of the 1983/84 season. Although he was only at the club for four years, the part he played in the history of Luton Town will never be forgotten. That goal not only kept Luton Town up; it enabled Pleat and the club to progress as the decade moved on.

After his playing career, Antic managed Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and the Serbian national team. But it’s his exploits on that Saturday in May 1983 that he will be remembered for mostly in England. A golden goal for Luton Town, and a hugely significant goal of the 1980s. RIP Raddy.

Golden goals: Mark Hughes (1985) >>